It's a holiday, but people aren't exactly in the streets celebrating. But, finally, there's been a first major step towards getting U.S. troops out of Iraq. Our soldiers pulled out of the cities today:
Iraq declared a public holiday Tuesday to celebrate the official withdrawal of American troops from Iraqi cities and towns, emptying the streets as many people stayed home because they feared violence.
As official Iraq celebrated, the American military announced the death of four soldiers on Monday from combat operations in Baghdad, a reminder of the continuing hazards for American troops here and the vulnerability of soldiers as they wrap up operations in the field.
In the past few weeks, with the approach of the official date for withdrawal, nationalist sentiments have spread within the Iraqi government and military, with officials all but boasting publicly that Iraq is ready to handle the security situation on its own. The date of June 30 was set in an Iraqi-American security agreement that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009.
Let's hope they are ready to handle it.
Even as this was unfolding, four more U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq today.
No comments:
Post a Comment